“Okay. I slipped Ted a few things about the case.”
A few things? More than that. But what mattered was Nolan had just confessed to leaking sensitive information about a murder case.
“You told Ted I wasn’t handling the case the right way.”
Nolan shrugged his shoulders. “In my opinion—”
“Your opinion is not something that gets shared with the press. What you did amounts to insubordination.”
“How was I to know he would put it on the front page?”
“Not only that, you shared confidential—”
“What, the bite marks? I thought that was public.”
“Bull, Nolan. And you probably accused an innocent woman of murder.”
“Who, Ruby? Everyone knows she did it. Even you—”
“And telling Ted I supposedly had doubts about Ruby’s innocence. Who told you that?”
Nolan shoved his thumbs into his belt. “None of your business.”
It had been Misty. What else had she shared with Nolan? Whatever it was, Nolan had passed the information along to Ted.
He wouldn’t press Nolan any further about Misty. He didn’t want to know what else she’d told Nolan about Brandon.
“Ruby hasn’t been charged—”
“She should have been,” Nolan said.
“And if she’s not guilty, are you going to pay her attorney when she goes after the department?”
“You’re firing me because I leaked a few things to the press? That wasn’t any big deal until you got here.”
“You’re being fired for undermining my authority, for falsely accusing a citizen in the press, for releasing case information without permission,” Brandon said. “Not to mention, you just got off unpaid leave for almost killing one of my officers.”
“Jackson? That was her fault—”
“Do you ever do anything wrong?” Brandon said. “You haven’t accepted responsibility for one thing I’ve mentioned.”
Nolan shook his head again. “This is bull. You can’t just take my job.”
“Watch me.”
“You’ll hear from my attorney,” Nolan said. “I’ve got a long list of complaints. I know you’re pissed because you tried to steal my girlfriend—”
“Get the hell out of here,” Brandon said.
Brandon wished it was seven o’clock. Not only because he had a date with Lisa, but he could use a drink. Or two.
A moment later, Sue walked into Brandon’s office, a stack of papers in her hand.
“You all right, chief?” she asked.
“You heard that, didn’t you?”
She grimaced.
“I’m not going to lie.”
“At least there’s one of you that’s honest.”
Sue pressed her lips together. “You have a whole team of good people. Nolan, he wasn’t one of them. In my opinion.”
She dropped the papers on Brandon’s desk. “Jackson’s HR paperwork moving her to full-time.”
“Thanks.”
Sue paused at the door. “You did the right thing.”
“Firing him?”
“Taking his gun. That guy’s a bad traffic stop away from killing someone. Even the old chief thought that.”
“Then why did he keep Nolan around?”
“Easier. Don’t get me wrong, Chief Satler was a good man. But in the end, he was thinking more about fishing than anything else.”
“I envy him.”
“Hey,” she said, tapping her finger on his desk. “Unlike us old folks, you got twenty years to go—at least. So, buck up. You haven’t earned retirement yet.”
He wasn’t so sure about that.
“Alright Sue. Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Any time—as long as I’m on the clock.”
Brandon signed Jackson’s paperwork and wrote an email to HR notifying them of Nolan’s firing. That meant he had to hire yet another new officer.
He’d address that later. For now, he had an alleged loss of confidence in his leadership that he needed to deal with.
An email from the mayor popped up on his screen. The subject line read, OUR MOONBEAM FESTIVAL IS RUINED.
Brandon didn’t have time for the mayor’s drama. He had enough going on within his own team. He hovered the cursor over the delete button. The phone rang.
He answered it.
“Have you seen the Forks Journal website?” the mayor asked.
“Yes.”
“Not the piece about you, bad as that was. I mean the website.”
“What about it?”
“It seems Ted contacted Tiffany Quick to ask her what she thought about the goings on in Forks. He sent her a copy of the article.”
“Okay.”
“Now she’s canceled her appearance at the Moonbeam Festival.”
“I’m sorry mayor, but I’m dealing with other stuff here—”
“Chief Mattson, we have spent tens of thousands on advertising, promising Tiffany Quick. This is a PR disaster.”
With each word, her tone darkened, her voice growing louder.
Brandon held the phone away from his ear. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I blame this on you,” she said.
“It’s my fault you overpromised for your festival?”
There was a long pause, and he knew his words were a mistake. It was too close to home.
“No,” the mayor said, her words slow and even. “It is your fault, Brandon, that this case has not been solved. If you would just charge Ruby Taylor like everyone wants—”
“Then I’d not be doing my job.”
“Your job is to make people feel safe,” she said. Her voice took on a softer tone. “Charging Ruby would reassure our citizens that Forks is safe, that the killer is behind bars. There’s still a chance Tiffany Quick changes her mind.”
“Mayor Kim, my job is not to make people feel safe, it’s to make them safe. I can’t do that if the killer is free.”
“You know what, if you don’t care about the economic health of this community—”
“Goodbye mayor.”
He hung up. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but had he stayed on the line, he’d tell the mayor what he really thought. That she was part of the problem. Her willingness to assign guilt to the most convenient suspect was the sort of thing that put innocent people in jail and let killers go free.
He was running out of time to catch the real murderer.
If the mayor fired Brandon, it would be soon. Then, she would make sure Ruby went to prison for life—guilty or not. And the real killer would have gotten away with murder.
Chapter 37
Jackson and Will arrived about fifteen to four. Josiah returned a little later to do shift briefing.
“Where’s Nolan?” Josiah asked.
“Everyone in the conference room,” Brandon said.
When they were all seated, he said, “I’ve let Nolan go.”
Will whistled. “Wow.”
“Why?” Jackson asked.
She was the last person Brandon thought would ask that question.
“Insubordination, leaking info to the press among other things.”
“I take it you saw the headline in today’s paper,” Will said.
“Yes, but like I said, it’s not just one thing. I know some of you have worked with Nolan for a long time. If you have any objections to my decision, speak your peace now. I won’t tolerate this department working out our disagreements in the local paper.”
Brandon looked to Josiah. The young officer had, at times, seemed to be under the sway of Nolan’s influence.
“Josiah?”
He glanced at Brandon. “I’m with you all the way, chief. And, just so you know, I didn’t talk to Ted—”
“But you knew it was going on?”
“Well…”
“We all knew about Nolan’s antics,” Will said.
“I’m not asking for my officers to spy on each other. But if someone is vi
olating department policy, I need to hear about it.”
“You’re right,” Will said, sliding a toothpick in his mouth. “We all let Nolan get out of hand.”
Brandon appreciated Will’s candor—and support.
“Alright, get back to work then,” Brandon said.
“You got a minute?” Jackson asked.
She waited for Will and Josiah to leave.
“I processed your permanent hire paperwork,” Brandon said.
“Thanks. But I have to know. You didn’t fire Nolan because of me?”
“The shots fired incident was one of many reasons,” Brandon said.
“Okay, but—”
“What are you worried about, Jackson?”
“I’m new here. And I’m a woman.”
“Both true. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s bad enough in the city, but in a place like this. If my fellow officers think I had something to do with Nolan getting let go—”
“I just told them why, and it had nothing to do with you.”
“If they believe you. And what about the community? People liked Nolan. What they said about you in the paper…”
“You think Ted will go after you because I fired Nolan?”
“Everyone knows Nolan had a problem with me. And that Ted and Nolan were practically best buds.”
“You don’t need to worry about this. Nolan’s firing is on me. I’ll make it clear to anyone who will listen.”
Sue knocked on the conference room door. Brandon waved her in.
“The Sheriff’s on the line,” she said.
“The Sheriff?”
“That’s right, the big guy up in Port Angeles.”
Brandon told Jackson to wait for him. He needed her assistance getting the DNA from Brooke.
He took the call in his office.
“How can I help you, Sheriff?”
“According to what I hear it sounds like you need a hell of a lot more help than I do,” Sheriff Hart said. Despite the hint of humor in his voice, it was clear he wanted to talk business.
“You saw the paper?”
“Don’t take it personal, Brandon. You’re not the first officer targeted by that craphole of a newspaper. Hell, Chief Satler used to call me up threatening to run Ted out of town—”
“Really? I thought everyone loved Satler, even the paper.”
“Nope. He was human, just like the rest of us.”
“What are you calling me about, Sheriff?”
“It’s related to the article, not because of it. Sounds like things are getting out of control—”
“You just said you didn’t believe the paper.”
“I’ve gotten calls from the community, the mayor—something about an annual festival being canceled.”
“Apparently the author changed her mind about visiting Forks.”
“I even got a call from an officer. You’ll know who he is, I’ll guess, because you just fired him.”
“Nolan.”
“Right. He’s filed a complaint. We’ll deal with that later.”
“I’m ready to discuss when you are—”
“Later. Let’s talk about this murder case—”
“Everyone wants it to be Ruby Taylor. Maybe they’re right, but I don’t have a case yet, and I won’t put someone on trial based on flimsy evidence.”
“I spoke with the coroner,” the sheriff said.
So, Hart did have his doubts about Brandon’s work. He’d called Lisa Shipley to check up on him.
“And?” Brandon asked
“She agrees with everything you’re doing.”
“Good to know,” Brandon said, not hiding the hardness in his voice.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” Brandon said.
“Are you a good homicide detective? I don’t doubt it. I’m sure you could run circles around any of the detectives we have up here. But that’s not my concern. It’s the politics, Brandon. You got to take care of this case before it spirals out of control. If the mayor calls me again or you keep getting the kind of press I’m hearing about, I won’t have much choice…”
Meaning, if the mayor didn’t fire him, Hart would. Nothing like having two bosses—both with the authority to can you.
“Understood,” Brandon said. “Anything else?”
“Solve these murders and, hey, try to be a little nicer to the mayor and her friends—including Ted.”
“I can solve the murders. I’m not making any promises about Ted.”
Brandon and Jackson rode to Olivia Baker’s house together. It was nearly dinner time, and he hoped this would go well. If Brooke agreed to the DNA test, the whole process would only take a few minutes.
Brandon didn’t want a repeat of the night before where he’d come home late. He didn’t like missing dinner with Emma, and she obviously was still upset.
As they stepped out of the SUV, Brandon thought he spotted Ted’s Civic down the street. The sun was at an angle so that it reflected off of the windshield, making it impossible to see if there was anyone in the car.
“What is it?” Jackson asked.
“Nothing. Just wondering if we’re being watched. By Ted.”
“That article making you paranoid, chief?” Jackson asked.
“It’s not paranoid if it’s true.”
They climbed the steps to the house. The door swung open.
“We’re having dinner,” Olivia said curtly.
Good for her. Brandon wished he was having dinner now, too.
Wait. He was supposed to meet Lisa at seven. Brandon checked his watch. It was after five. He still had time.
“We need to speak to Brooke,” he said.
Olivia didn’t budge.
“Ms. Baker,” Jackson said. “We need to know if Brooke is here.”
Olivia sighed. “Come in.” She opened the screen door.
“Did you hear about Tiffany Quick?” Olivia asked Brandon. It was more of an accusation than a question.
“Yep. Where’s Brooke?” Brandon asked.
“In her room. I’ll get her.”
When Olivia had left, Brandon said, “I thought they were having dinner.”
Jackson shrugged her shoulders. “White lie.”
“Hmm.”
Brooke rounded the corner, her hair mussed as if she’d just woken up.
Brandon motioned to Jackson, indicating she should take the lead.
“Hi Brooke, how are you feeling?”
Brooke looked suspiciously at the two officers in her aunt’s living room.
“Um, fine.”
“She’s been sleeping a lot,” Olivia said. “It’s what you’d expect given what she’s been through.”
“I know it’s been a hard week,” Jackson said. “I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.”
“Yeah,” Brooke said, lowering her head.
“So why are you here?” Olivia asked.
“We have a few more questions for Brooke,” Brandon said.
“I already told you everything I know,” Brooke whined.
“You’re just re-traumatizing her,” Olivia said. “If your department listened to common sense—”
Brandon opened his mouth, but Jackson beat him to it.
“This won’t take but a few moments,” Jackson said. “And it could go a long way toward proving that you didn’t have anything to do with any of this.”
“How?” Brooke asked.
“We would like to obtain a DNA sample—”
“No way. You can’t force her to do that,” Olivia said.
They could get a warrant for Brooke’s DNA, if it came to that. He hoped it wouldn’t.
“That’s why we’re asking nicely,” Brandon said.
“Honey, you need to talk to an attorney,” Olivia said. “This is all just a distraction from the real killer.”
“Is this because of the bite marks?” Brooke asked.
“Yes, but�
�” Jackson started.
“You’re right,” Brandon said. He glanced at Jackson, shrugged his shoulders. “I guess, thanks to the newspaper, everyone knows about the bites.”
“And there might be saliva on Justin’s neck,” Brooke said.
“Right,” Brandon replied. In truth, they hadn’t found saliva on Justin’s bite mark.
“Don’t do this,” Olivia said.
“It sounds like you think your niece is guilty,” Brandon said.
“That’s not true at all. I just don’t want her being framed by a cop who doesn’t want to do his job—”
It was a good thing Jackson was there. One, as a witness Brandon hadn’t responded inappropriately to Olivia’s comments. And two, so he wouldn’t respond inappropriately to her comments.
“We only want to clear your name so we can move on other suspects,” Jackson said in a reassuring tone.
“Okay,” Brooke said. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
A few minutes later Brandon and Jackson escorted Brooke to the SUV and placed her in the back seat.
As they were leaving, Olivia held up her phone. She called out to Brandon. “I’m calling the mayor,” Olivia said. “And the newspaper.”
Brandon winked at her. “You do that. By the way, your friend Ted is down the street stalking your house. Save yourself the call.”
He pointed to Ted’s car a block away.
As they pulled away, Olivia eyed Ted’s car up the street. Maybe she’d give him a piece of her mind for spying on her, the mayor’s right-hand woman.
Brandon wished he could be there to hear it.
Chapter 38
Jackson noticed the reporters first.
“What’s going on at the station?”
The news van’s extendible satellite antenna was visible two blocks away. Were it a building, it would qualify as the tallest in town.
“Dammit,” he said, pulling into the parking lot. “This is the last thing we need right now.”
Brandon recognized the van’s KIRO News logo. KIRO was one of the big three local stations in the Seattle area.
Brandon edged his SUV up to the automatic gate that led to the jail sally port. A camera crew approached. They were followed by an African American woman, neatly dressed but wearing a windbreaker over her business jacket. Brandon recognized her from his days working homicide in Seattle. He’d never talked to her directly, but she’d covered some of his partner’s cases. Her name was Cherise McLaughlin.
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